Dwarf Grapevines Fruit All Year

Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO, discovered a naturally occurring dwarfing gene in a very old wine grape variety and cross bred it into table grapes to create microvines.
An unexpected by-product of the dwarfing gene is it allows the vine to continuously fruit, if provided the right conditions.
Initially the discovery was used as a research tool, allowing scientists to breed different varieties with special traits in a shorter amount of time but they are now considering its commercial application.
In Australia, the fresh grape season runs for six to seven months, starting in November, peaking in February and March, and closing in May.
Australia is then a significant importer of grapes from the United States from June to December.
Now, with an opportunity to supply fresh grapes all year round, both domestically and internationally, the CSIRO is looking for businesses partner.

The vines small stature and continuous fruiting made them ideal for greenhouse operations and could be trained to grow vertical or laterally, similar to tomatoes.
When microvines are grown in a greenhouse, the control conditions allow the plants to the continuous flowering and fruiting all year round.
The plants are only dwarf in vine size and their yield is comparable to field-grown table grapes.
The berries are slightly smaller than the big ones seen in the shops, but are not an abnormally small.

There are a number of other benefits to micro vines. The greenhouses can be used in areas where the land is not suitable for field crops, while also offering protection from weather and pests.
They offer flexibility to rotate varieties, and their rapid growth means farmers wouldn't lose time planting or switching to others varieties, with a microvines fruiting in six months as opposed to three years for field-grown grapes.
The CSIRO is even considering introducing the microvines to nurseries to be sold as household plants.
They may not have the same continuous production, but would be great in a small pot plant on the balcony or in the home garden.
Source: Jamieson Murphy (National Rural Affairs reporter) FarmOnline National.